Agriculture for livelihood and natural resource management

In Cameroon there has been a rapid growth of the extractivist industries leading to the increasing displacement of communities from the lands and forests upon which their livelihoods, well-being and identity are based. There is increasing degradation and pollution of these lands, affecting water sources and increasing air pollution. These impacts are disproportionately borne by women who are responsible for 60% to 80% of domestic food production in Sub-Saharan Africa (ASQ, 2002), and who lead on the day-to-day reproduction and care of their households and communities. Women’s work situates them closest to polluted soils and waters, placing them at greater risk for ill-health. While men labour in the mines and plantations, it is the women who labour on an unpaid basis to care for sick workers and family members, subsidising industries for poor living and working conditions, and allowing the state to escape from its responsibilities both for health care and environmental stewardship, as well as its failure to hold mining companies accountable for their social and environmental impacts. CAEPA Cameroon seeks to support the advocacy goals and to empower grassroots communities and especially women to become more engaged on their advocacy goals at the intersection of gender and the environment.

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Vision

Vulnerable and marginalized women and girls have equal access to resources for sustainable development within a supportive environment that enhances the respect of their rights, dignity and well-being.